Customizing DVR functionality

ABSTRACT

Techniques described herein automatically identify, in a multimedia content, an advertiser from which an advertisement in the multimedia content originates and/or a brand to which the advertisement pertains. The system determines whether the identified advertiser and/or identified brand is specified in a not to be displayed list and if so, performs at least one of: presents alternative content during the time interval that the advertisement occupies in the multimedia content or skips over the advertisement in the multimedia content.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority as a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/043,738, filed Oct. 1, 2013, which claimspriority as a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/950,898, filed Nov. 19, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,549,553, issuedOct. 1, 2013, which claims priority as a continuation application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/713,242, filed Mar. 1, 2007, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,861,258, issued Dec. 28, 2010, which claims priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/778,596, filed Mar. 1, 2006,under 35 U.S.C. §119(e). The entire contents of each of theaforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference for allpurposes, as if fully set forth herein. The applicant(s) hereby rescindany disclaimer of claim scope in the parent application(s) or theprosecution history thereof and advise the USPTO that the claims in thisapplication may be broader than any claim in the parent application(s).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to digital video recorders (“DVRs”).

BACKGROUND

The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are notnecessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued.Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches describedin this section are not prior art to the claims in this application andare not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

The introduction of the DVR to the consumer world has revolutionized theway viewers watch and record television programs. DVRs eliminate many ofthe complications of VCRs and the need for video tapes. DVRs recordtelevision programs on a hard drive that is capable of storing a largenumber of television programs. Because DVRs are usually box-like inshape, and are often found sitting on top of the television sets towhich they are connected, DVRs typically are included in the broadcategory of devices now called “set-top boxes.” Much like VCRs, DVRsreceive one or more television signals (which may represent televisionprograms and/or movies) as input from cables or satellite dishes, (or,in some cases, unlike VCRs, from broadband network connections) and alsooutput television signals to a television set or other display.

A DVR's user can instruct the DVR to schedule, for recording, specifiedcontent that may be broadcasted or otherwise transmitted to the DVR atsome future time. Thus, the user can schedule the automatic recording ofthe content in advance of the time that the DVR will receive thecontent. For example, the user can instruct the DVR to recordunspecified content that will be broadcasted on a specified channelbeginning at a specified date and time and ending at another specifiedtime. For another example, the user can instruct the DVR to record aspecified showing (on a specified channel, and beginning at a specifieddate and time) of a specified movie, specified event, or specifiedepisode of a multi-episode television series. For another example, theuser can instruct the DVR to record the next to-be-broadcasted instanceof a specified movie, specified event, or specified episode of amulti-episode television series without specifying the date, time, orchannel on which that instance will be broadcasted. For another example,the user can instruct the DVR to record all (or all first-run) episodesof a multi-episode television series on a specified channel withoutspecifying the dates or times at which those episodes will bebroadcasted. For another example, the user can instruct the DVR torecord all (or all first-run) instances of movies, events, or episodesof a multi-episode television series that are associated with aspecified keyword, a specified actor, and/or a specified directorwithout specifying the titles, channels, or broadcasting times of thoseinstances.

Many of the households in which DVRs are used also are those in whichchildren are present. Parents who own DVRs might not want their childrento watch certain televised content due to the violent or mature natureof that content, among other possible reasons. However, these parentsmight also want their DVRs to record such content for the parents aloneto watch in privacy, despite the parents' desire to prevent theirchildren from viewing such content. Thus, in some cases, a DVR mighthave, stored thereon, content that the parents wanted the DVR to record,but which the parents do not want their children to view.

Several schemes have been devised for preventing children from viewingselected televised content. One such scheme involves the “V-chip”technology. The V-chip allows parents to block certain kinds oftelevision programming that the parents don't want their children towatch. Most television programs are now assigned a rating according to asystem established by the broadcasting industry. The rating is encodedwith the program so that, using the remote control, parents can programthe V-chip to prevent a television from displaying programs that areassociated with certain ratings.

In 1996, The U.S. Congress asked the broadcasting industry to establisha voluntary ratings system for TV programs. The industry did so bycreating the ratings system known as “TV Parental Guidelines.” Thissystem was established by the National Association of Broadcasters, theNational Cable Television Association, and the Motion PictureAssociation of America. Ratings established under this system appear inthe corner of a television screen during the first 15 seconds of eachprogram. The ratings are also included in many magazines and newspapersthat provide TV listings. Ratings are given to all televisionprogramming except news, sports, and unedited movies on premium cablechannels. Under this system, there are six possible ratings. TV-Y (AllChildren), found only in children's shows, means that the show isappropriate for all children. TV-7 (Directed to Older Children), foundonly in children's shows, means that the show is most appropriate forchildren age 7 and up. TV-G (General Audience) means that the show issuitable for all ages but is not necessarily a children's show. TV-PG(Parental Guidance Suggested) means that parental guidance is suggestedand that the show may be unsuitable for younger children. This ratingmay also include a V for violence, an S for sexual situations, an L forlanguage, and/or a D for suggestive dialogue. TV-14 (Parents StronglyCautioned) means that the show may be unsuitable for children under 14.A V, S, L, or D may accompany a rating of TV-14. TV-MA (Mature AudienceOnly) means that the show is for mature audiences only and may beunsuitable for children under 17. A V, S, L, or D may accompany a ratingof TV-MA.

Although V-chip technology allows parents to prevent certain kinds oftelevised content from being displayed to their children, many parentsmay find the V-chip technology to be over-inclusive. The V-chiptechnology that prevents children from watching certain televisedcontent also may prevent parents from watching televised content thatthe parents want to view while not in the company of their children.Because the V-chip technology blocks all programming that does notsatisfy parents' specified criteria, the V-chip technology could preventDVRs from playing recorded content that parents might actually want towatch outside of their children's presence. Conceivably, parents couldre-program a television's V-chip every time that the parents wanted toallow the television to present content that the children shouldn'tview, but many parents might find repetitive re-programming to be ahassle. Additionally, such an approach carries the risk that the parentsmight forget to re-program the television's V-chip to preventchild-forbidden content from being presented, thereby accidentallyexposing their children to content that the parents did not want theirchildren to view. Furthermore, some televised content might not beassociated with any rating; the manner in which the V-chip technologyhandles such content might vary from implementation to implementation.

Another scheme devised for preventing children from viewing selectedtelevised content is the “parental controls” mechanism that isimplemented within DVRs that are produced by TiVo Inc. The parentalcontrols mechanism allows a parent to block out specified channels andcertain kinds of televised content. In fact, the parental controlsmechanism even allows a parent to place the DVR into a protected mode inwhich a parent-specified secret password must be supplied to the DVRbefore the DVR will permit the viewing of any channel. To set the DVR tothe protected mode, a parent selects a “turn on parental controls”option within one of the DVR's menus. In response to the selection ofthis option, the DVR asks the parent to supply a four-digit password.From that point on, until the protected mode is exited, the DVR willprevent programs broadcasted on any parentally designated “blocked”channel from being displayed unless the password is supplied to the DVR.Parents can block channels of their choosing using a “channel lock”feature.

The parental controls mechanism also allows parents to block specifiedkinds of televised content based on the ratings that are associated withthat content, regardless of the channels on which that content isbroadcasted. When this feature is used, the DVR automatically determinesthe rating that is associated with televised content (using the ratingsfrom the “TV Parental Guidelines” system discussed above, amongpotentially others), and then either blocks or allows that content basedon whether that rating is permissible in view of parentally establishedsettings. These settings may include “TV rating limits,” which enablethe blocking of televised content based on the “maturity level” of thatcontent. Using TV rating limits, a parent specifies a certain level ofrestrictiveness from among several available levels. Televised contentwhich has a rating that is not permissible in view of the specifiedlevel of restrictiveness is blocked. The settings also may include“movie rating limits,” which allows a parent to specify which movieratings (e.g., G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17, and AO (adults only)) arepermitted and which movie ratings are not permitted. Content which isassociated with a movie rating that is not permissible in view of theparentally specified allowable set of movie ratings is blocked. Thesetting also may include “TV content” limitations, which allow a parentto specify categories (e.g., suggestive dialog, language, sexualcontent, violence, fantasy violence) of content that are forbidden. Whenthis feature is used, televised content which is associated with any ofthe parentally selected categories is blocked, regardless of the generalrating (e.g., TV-PG, TV-14, TV-MA) that is associated with that content.

As is discussed above, while in the protected mode provided by the“parental controls” mechanism, a TiVo DVR will not permit blockedcontent to be displayed unless the DVR's operator can supply thepreviously established password. Additionally, the protected modeprovided by the “parental controls” mechanism may be exited indefinitelyby selecting a certain menu option and supplying the password. In orderto mitigate the problems that might arise when a parent forgets to placethe DVR back into the protected mode after exiting the protected mode,the “parental controls” mechanism conveniently includes an “auto relock”feature which, when active, automatically places the DVR back into theprotected mode whenever the DVR's controls have not been activated(e.g., via the remote control) for at least four hours.

Although the “parental controls” mechanism discussed above providesparents with a rich set of features for shielding their children fromsome undesirable content, the “parental controls” mechanism has somelimitations. For example, although the “parental controls” mechanism hashistorically enabled the blockage of content based on channel or rating,the “parental controls” mechanism has not historically enabled theblockage of content based on various other factors that are unrelated tochannel and rating. This concerns some parents, since the ratingsassociated with some content might be chosen by people with whoseopinions and views the parents strongly disagree. Ratings are, to someextent, subjective. Some parents see existing ratings systems as beingonly coarsely defined, and as not being descriptive of some attributesof content about which a parent might wish to base his decision to blockthat content. For example, even though a television program might bebroadcasted on a generally child-friendly television station (e.g., “PBSKids Sprout”), and even though that television program might beassociated with a child-friendly rating (e.g., TV-Y), that televisionprogram might promote some views to which some parents are adamantlyopposed, and those views might not be discernable from any existingrating. A parent might want his child to be able to watch all of thetelevision shows on “PBS Kids Sprout” except for “Postcards From Buster”and “Teletubbies.” Unfortunately, besides blocking the entire “PBS KidsSprout” channel using the “parental controls” mechanism, a parent mighthave no way of preventing his child from viewing these programs, sincethe ratings for all or nearly all of the programs on that channel arethe same.

The “parental controls” mechanism is also somewhat limited in that itestablishes only two distinct modes of DVR operation wherecontent-blocking capability is concerned: protected or completelyunprotected. Although these two modes might be appropriate forhouseholds in which the only individuals other than the parents arechildren of approximately the same age and maturity level, in otherhouseholds, content restrictions universally imposed in the protectedmode might be too restrictive for some older children but notrestrictive enough for some younger children. Also, the parentalcontrols mechanism in DVRs allow children to still display the names anddescriptions of all of the programs in an Electronic Program Guide (EPG)as well as programs that the parents have recorded even though thechildren are not able to view the programs. Some implementations allowthe blocking of “adult” titles, but are not able to block standardprogramming such as “Sex and the City” that have material that is maturein nature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in whichlike reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system in which protected kids zones maybe established on DVRs, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented main menu whichcontains a menu item whose selection initiates a process forestablishing a kids zone on the DVR, according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a “messages and settings” menu that aDVR displays when a “messages and settings” menu item is selected,according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that explainskids zone and requests confirmation prior to enabling kids zone,according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that provides amechanism by which parents can configure a kid zone with pre-set defaultsettings that are directed toward preventing content that is unsuitablefor children of certain age groups, according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that provides amechanism by which a parent can supply a password, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that explainsthat the DVR has been placed into a kids zone operational mode,according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that includes amenu item whose selection causes the DVR to enter the kids zoneoperational mode, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that shows onlycontent items that are allowed by the restriction criteria that areassociated with the kids zone, according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that containsdetailed information about a stored content item selected in the kidszone, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates another view of the “kids zone now playing” listscreen of FIG. 9, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 12 and 18 illustrate examples of a DVR-presented screen thatcontain menu items that represent various actions that can be taken toadd user-selected content items to the kids zone, thereby making thoseuser-selected content items “unrestricted” in the kids zone, accordingto an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that brieflyintroduces and explains virtual channels, according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented Electronic ProgramGuide (EPG) screen, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that showsvarious different interested parties (“gurus”) that a parent can selectin order to view the recommended suggestion list (“guru guide”) of thatinterested party, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that showsdetailed information about a user-selected guru, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that lists menuitems that represent various categories of guru guides, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that showsuser-selectable content items that the DVR has already obtained andstored, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 20 illustrates the screen of FIG. 19 in which a check mark has beenplaced next to a user-selected content item that is to be added to thekids zone, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that informsthe user which of the selected content items have been added to the kidszone, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that shows afolder that corresponds to a virtual channel, according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIGS. 23 and 24 illustrate an example of a DVR-presented screen thatcontains detailed information about an upcoming program, includingwhether or not presentation of the upcoming program is currently allowedin the kids zone, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that shows aninformational banner that omits restricted kinds of information about acontent item, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 26 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that informs auser that the channel to which the user wants the DVR to tune is notavailable while the DVR is in the kids zone operational mode, accordingto an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 27 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that informs auser that the viewing of live presentations is not currently availablewhile the DVR is in the kids zone operational mode and is recordinganother show, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that contains amain menu, including a “messages and settings” menu item whose selectioncauses the DVR to present a “messages and settings” menu, according toan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 29 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that contains a“messages and settings” menu, including a “kids zone setup” menu itemwhose selection causes the DVR to initiate a process through which theDVR user can modify kids zone settings, according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 30 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen which containsmenu items whose selection causes the DVR to initiate processes throughwhich DVR users can modify the kids zone settings, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 31 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that listschannels and acts as an interface through which a DVR user can choosewhich channels are allowable in the kids zone, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 32 is a block diagram that shows an example of the internalstructure and operation of a DVR, according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 33 is a block diagram of a system on which embodiments of theinvention may be implemented; and

FIG. 34 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that containsdetailed information about a DVD's content, according to an embodimentof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however,that the present invention may be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shownin block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thepresent invention.

In the following discussion, in references to the drawings like numeralsrefer to like parts throughout the several views.

Embodiments are described herein according to the following outline:

-   -   1.0 General Overview    -   2.0 System Structural Overview    -   3.0 Example Techniques and Processes        -   3.1 Establishing and Entering a Kids Zone        -   3.2 Designating Which Content Items Are Kids Zone-Accessible        -   3.3 Restricting Live Presentations and Descriptive            Information        -   3.4 Handling Conflicting Scheduled Recordings        -   3.5 Executable Content        -   3.6 Automatic Standby Mode        -   3.7 Requesting Parental Approval of Recording in Kids Zone        -   3.8 Handling Failed Password Attempts        -   3.9 Restricting Presentation Through Play Lists        -   3.10 Restricting Presentation Through Timers        -   3.11 Restricting Presentation of DVD Content        -   3.12 Logging DVR Activity        -   3.13 Restricting Advertisements        -   3.14 Multiple Kids Zones on the Same DVR    -   4.0 Example DVR    -   5.0 Implementation Mechanisms—Hardware Overview        1.0 General Overview

Systems and techniques described herein enable parents to establish oneor more protected “kids zone” operational modes on a DVR. According toone such technique, a DVR receives, from a parent, “black list”identities (e.g., titles) of content items (e.g., television programs,movies, downloadable content, etc.) that the parent does not wantchildren to view. The DVR stores associations between a particular kidszone and the identities. During times that the DVR is set to operate inthe particular kids zone operational mode, the DVR prevents itself frompresenting (e.g., playing or otherwise displaying) any content itemsthat are associated with the identities. Additionally, during thesetimes, the DVR prevents the scheduling of new (not already scheduled)recordings of any content items that are associated with the identities.However, during these times, the DVR still may obtain and store (e.g.,by recording televised signals and/or downloading content) content itemsthat are associated with the identities—as long as the recording ofthose content items was set up during a time in which the DVR was notoperating in the particular kids zone operational mode. At other times,during which the DVR is not set to operate in the particular kids zoneoperational mode, the DVR may allow itself to present the content itemsthat are associated with the identities, including content items thatthe DVR obtained and stored during times that the DVR was set to operatein the particular kids zone operational mode.

Parents may use this DVR feature to prevent their children from viewingspecified content items while also causing the DVR to record those ofthe specified content items that the parents might want to view later.Additionally, parents may use this DVR feature to prevent their childrenfrom viewing specified content items without preventing their childrenfrom viewing other content items that are on the same channel as thespecified content items, and without preventing their children fromviewing other content items that have the same or even less restrictiveratings than those of the specified content items. Parents may imposefinely tailored viewing restrictions that are not over-inclusive.

As is described below, in one embodiment of the invention, parents mayselect, from among potentially many different pre-set sets ofrestriction criteria that are appropriate for different age ranges, aspecific “default” set of restriction criteria that will be active whilethe DVR is operating in the kids zone operational mode. Additionally, inone embodiment of the invention, parents may customize the selectedrestriction criteria to be even more or less restrictive than thecriteria originally were.

Embodiments of the invention summarized above are described below ingreater detail, along with some alternative embodiments of theinvention. Although embodiments of the invention described below aredescribed in the context of DVRs, in alternative embodiments of theinvention, devices other than DVRs may be substituted for, and mayperform similar operations to those that are performed by, DVRs.

2.0 System Structural Overview

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system in which protected kids(children's) zones may be established on DVRs, according to anembodiment of the invention. The system contains DVRs 102 and 104, eachof which are communicatively coupled to network 105 through anycommunication interface, such as an Ethernet interface or wirelesscommunications port. The system also includes server 106A, contentprovider 106B, personal computer 101A and portable device 101B.

Personal computer 101A may be a personal computing device, such as adesktop computer or laptop computer, and is also coupled to network 105through any proper interface. Personal computer 101A is also connectedto portable device 101B. Portable device 101B is a handheld computingdevice, cellular phone, portable media player, or any other portabledevice capable of displaying multimedia content. DVRs 102 and 104,personal computer 101A, and portable device 101B each communicate withserver 106A and content provider 106B through network 105.

Network 105 may be implemented by any medium or mechanism that providesfor the exchange of data between devices in the communication system.Examples of network 105 include, without limitation, a network such as aLocal Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), the Internet, one ormore terrestrial, satellite or wireless links, etc. Alternatively oradditionally, any number of devices connected to network 105 may also bedirectly connected to each other through a communications link.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVRs 102 and 104 communicate withserver 106A, which provides program guide data, graphical resources(such as fonts, pictures, etc.), service information, software,advertisements, event identification data, and other forms of data thatenable DVRs 102 and 104 to operate independently of server 106A tosatisfy viewer interests.

Content provider 106B may also provide multimedia program contentdirectly to DVRs 102 and 104 through: over the air broadcasts, satellitetransmissions, coaxial cable, and/or broadband networks (such as theInternet or intranets). The multimedia program content includes suchcontent as: feature length movies, sitcoms, variety shows, talk shows,advertisements, etc., for display to DVR users. Content provider 106Balso may provide, to server 106A, additional data, including promotionaldata, icons, web data, and other information for server 106A tointerpret and provide to DVRs 102 and 104. According to one embodimentof the invention, content provider 106B provides multimedia programcontent to server 106A for processing. Server 106A processes themultimedia program content, creates the event identification data, andprovides the event identification data to DVRs and other devices.

In one embodiment of the invention, protected kids zones may beestablished on each of DVRs 102 and 104. The kids zones established oneach DVR may differ from each other. For example, due to differingparental configurations of DVRs 102 and 104, the content which DVR 102blocks when DVR 102 is operating in a kids zone operational mode maydiffer from the content which DVR 104 blocks when DVR 104 is operatingin a kids zone operational mode. Kids zones are discussed in greaterdetail below.

3.0 Example Techniques and Processes

3.1 Establishing and Entering a Kids Zone

According to one embodiment of the invention, at one point or another, aDVR (e.g., DVR 102) displays a main menu such as is illustrated in FIG.2. The DVR may cause such a menu (and other menus, screens, dialogs, anduser interfaces described herein) to be displayed by sending signals toa television set, monitor, or other visual display device. A parent (orother user) can use a remote control (which is configured to operatewith the DVR) to select, from among the several menu items, a particularmenu item in which the parent is interested. As shown in FIG. 2, amongthe other user-selectable options shown in the main menu 200 is aparticular menu item whose selection causes the DVR to initiate aprocess for establishing a kids zone for that DVR. Note that theparent/child relationship is translatable to “grandparent/child”,“guardian/ward”, “employer/employee”, “teacher/student”,“doctor/patient”, etc., where there is an entity set that wants tocontrol content displayed to another entity set. In FIG. 2, thisparticular menu item is labeled, “Got Kids? Set up Kids Zone!” 201.

In one embodiment of the invention, the process for establishing a kidszone for a DVR may be established via several different menu items towhich a parent may navigate from any of a variety of differentDVR-presented menus. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a “messages andsettings” menu 300 that a DVR displays when a “messages and settings”menu item 202 (shown in FIG. 2) is selected, according to an embodimentof the invention. According to one embodiment of the invention, thismenu includes a menu item labeled “Kids Zone Setup” 301. User selectionof this menu item also causes the DVR to initiate the process forestablishing a kids zone for that DVR if no kids zone has beenestablished on that DVR yet, or to present options for modifying a kidszone if at least one kids zone has been established on the DVR.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 400 thatexplains kids zone and requests confirmation prior to enabling kidszone, according to an embodiment of the invention. For example, DVR 102may cause the screen shown in FIG. 4 to be presented to a parent inresponse to that parent's selection of the “Set up Kids Zone” menu item201 in the main menu of FIG. 2, or in response to that parent'sselection of the “Kids Zone Setup” menu item 301 in the “messages andsettings” menu of FIG. 3. The screen shown in FIG. 4 informs the parentthat, during times in which DVR 102 is operating in the kids zoneoperational mode (in contrast to the DVR's general default operationalmode), users of DVR 102 (more specifically, children) will not be ableto view content that does not satisfy criteria of the parents' choosing.The screen additionally informs the parent that, during these times,users of DVR 102 will be prevented from (a) viewing certainalready-recorded instances of content items and (b) causing DVR 102 torecord any content items that have not already been scheduled forrecording.

In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the menu optionlabeled “Yes, enable Kids Zone” 401 causes DVR 102 to present the screenshown in FIG. 5. Alternatively, user selection of the menu optionlabeled “No, thank you” 402 causes DVR 102 to terminate the process forestablishing the kids zone on DVR 102.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 500 thatprovides a mechanism by which parents can configure a kid zone withpre-set default settings that are directed toward preventing contentthat is unsuitable for children of certain age groups, according to anembodiment of the invention. The screen comprises a menu that includesmenu items that represent different age ranges. In the example shown,there is a first menu item for “ages under 4 years” 501, a second menuitem for “ages 4 to 7 years” 502, and a third menu item for “ages 7 to12 years” 503. In one embodiment of the invention, the menu can becustomized to contain additional, fewer, or different age ranges, ordifferent viewer categories completely (which might or might not bebased on age). For example, age ranges can be “ages 6 and under,” “ages9 and under,” “ages 12 and under,” etc.

In one embodiment of the invention, each age range is associated with aseparate set of restriction criteria. The restriction criteria that areassociated with one age range may differ from the restriction criteriathat are associated with another age range. For example, the restrictioncriteria that are associated with the “under 4 years” age range may bemore restrictive than the restriction criteria that are associated withthe “ages 4 to 7 years” age range. Similarly, the restriction criteriathat are associated with the “ages 4 to 7 years” age range may be morerestrictive than the restriction criteria that are associated with the“ages 7 to 12 years” age range. Although age ranges are presented asselectable menu items in one embodiment of the invention, in alternativeembodiments of the invention, viewer categories other than age rangesare presented as selected menu items. Each viewer category may be mappedto a separate, possibly different, set of restriction criteria.

Among other criteria, restriction criteria may indicate (a) specifiedchannels that are to be blocked when a DVR is operating in an associatedkids zone mode, (b) specified Uniform Resource Locators (“URLs”) and/orportions thereof (e.g., Internet domains) from which content is not tobe presented when the DVR is operating in the associated kids zone mode,(c) specified ratings and categories of content that are to be blockedwhen the DVR is operating in the associated kids zone mode, and/or (d)specified titles of content that is to be blocked when the DVR isoperating in the associated kids zone mode. Additionally, in oneembodiment of the invention, restriction criteria also may include“white list” criteria that indicate, for example, specified titles ofcontent that should not be blocked, regardless of other restrictioncriteria, when the DVR is operating in the associated kids zone mode. Inone embodiment of the invention, during times in which a DVR isoperating in a kids zone mode that is associated with restrictioncriteria that include white list criteria, the DVR allows the viewingand recording of content that is associated with titles that arespecified in the white list criteria even if the DVR otherwise wouldblock the viewing and recording of that content due to that content'sfailure to satisfy the other restriction criteria.

In one embodiment of the invention, the restriction criteria that areassociated with each age are specified by one or more people other thanthe owners and post-purchase operators of the DVR. For example, DVR 102may come shipped with, or may automatically download, for each agerange, default restriction criteria that are proposed by the providersof DVR 102 and/or other entities that (a) do not own DVR 102 and (b) donot operate DVR 102 after the purchase of DVR 102 by the owners of DVR102.

In one embodiment of the invention, after a parent has selected an agerange for the kids zone, as described above with reference to FIG. 5,DVR 102 requests a new password from the parent. FIG. 6 illustrates anexample of a DVR-presented screen 600 that provides a mechanism by whicha parent can supply a password, according to an embodiment of theinvention. In the example illustrated, the parent uses the DVR remotecontrol to enter a four-digit password. Any time that the DVR has beenplaced in the kids zone operational mode, the parent will be required tosupply the entered password at any time that the parent wishes the placethe DVR into an operational mode other than the kids zone. The secrecyof the password prevents children from exiting the kids zone and fromchanging the settings thereof.

Although the example illustrated is described with reference to afour-digit password, other embodiments of the invention may ask for anduse, instead, passwords of other lengths and compositions. For example,the password might be any number of digits and/or alphanumericcharacters. For another example, the password might be formed by thepressing of parent-selected buttons on the DVR remote control in aparent-selected sequence.

In one embodiment of the invention, after the parent has supplied, toDVR 102, the age range and the password for the kids zone, the kids zoneis established. DVR 102 maps the restriction criteria to the kids zoneand stores the mapping. However, at this point, DVR 102 has notnecessarily been placed into the kids zone operational mode. FIG. 7illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 700 that explains thatthe kids zone has been established, according to an embodiment of theinvention. The illustrated screen explains that the kids zone has beenestablished, and instructs the parent on how to place the DVR into thenewly established kids zone operational mode. The illustrated screeninforms the parent that the DVR can be placed into the kids zoneoperational mode via selection of a particular menu item in the “nowplaying” list (which is accessible via selection of a certain menu itemon the main menu described above with reference to FIG. 2). Theillustrated screen also informs the parent that the kids zone settings(such as which content DVR 102 can present while the DVR is in the kidszone operational mode) can be modified by following a specifiedprocedure.

Additionally, in one embodiment of the invention, the screen 700explains that the DVR will automatically place itself back into the kidszone operational mode after a specified period of time (in this example,four hours) has passed during which the DVR's controls have not beenused (either via the DVR remote or the DVR's on-surface console). In oneembodiment of the invention, this “auto-relock” feature may be disabledby following a specified process.

In one embodiment of the invention, after the kids zone has beenestablished and created on DVR 102 as described above, a menu item,whose selection causes DVR 102 to place itself into the kids zoneoperational mode, appears in the DVR's general “now playing” list. FIG.8 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen that includes a menuitem whose selection causes the DVR to enter the kids zone operationalmode, according to an embodiment of the invention. The screenillustrated in FIG. 8 shows the titles of content (e.g., televisionprograms) that DVR 102 has obtained and stored (e.g., by recording thecontent as the content was broadcast, or by downloading the content overa network) for later presentation. Above these titles, the illustratedscreen 800 shows a “kids zone” menu item 801. A user's selection of thismenu item causes DVR 102 to place itself into the kids zone operationalmode. Once DVR 102 has been placed into the kids zone operational mode,the content that DVR 102 can present, potentially including some of thecontent that DVR 102 has already obtained and stored, may becomeunavailable for presentation until DVR 102 has been placed back into thegeneral, unrestricted operational mode, or unless the previouslyestablished password is supplied to override, temporarily, therestrictions imposed in the kids zone.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 900 that showsonly content items that are allowed by the restriction criteria that areassociated with the kids zone 902, according to an embodiment of theinvention. In contrast to the general “now playing” list of FIG. 8, the“kids zone now playing” list 900 of FIG. 9 omits, from the list, all ofthe content items whose attributes and characteristics (e.g., title,rating, category, channel or URL from which obtained, etc.) fail tosatisfy the restriction criteria that are associated with the kids zone.For example, although content items such as “Bob the Builder,” “Thomas &Friends,” “DragonTales,” and “Caillou” remain in the “kids zone nowplaying” list of FIG. 9, other content items such as “CSI: New York,”“The Simpsons,” and “South Park,” which appeared in the general “nowplaying” list of FIG. 8, are not shown in the “kids zone now playing”list. The latter content items are omitted from the “kids now playing”list because, for whatever reason, they do not satisfy the restrictioncriteria that are associated with the kids zone. These latter contentitems are still stored on DVR 102, but, in one embodiment of theinvention, they are not accessible from DVR 102 while DVR 102 is in thekids zone operational mode.

The example screen shown in FIG. 9 also includes an “exit kids zone”menu item 901 and an “add shows to kids zone” menu item. In oneembodiment of the invention, user selection of the “exit kids zone” menuitem 901 causes DVR 102 to prompt the DVR's user for the previouslyestablished password. Submission of the correct password in response tothe prompt causes DVR 102 to exit the kids zone and place itself intothe general, unrestricted operational mode, at least temporarily.Similarly, in one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the“add shows to kids zone” menu item 903 also causes DVR 102 to prompt theDVR's user for the previously established password. Submission of thecorrect password in response to the prompt causes DVR 102 to initiate aprocess through which the DVR's user can modify the restriction criteriathat are associated with the kids zone. In any case, submission of anincorrect password in response to a prompt does not allow exit from oralteration of the kids zone.

In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of a content item'stitle shown in the “kids zone now playing” list causes DVR 102 todisplay more detailed information about that content item. FIG. 10illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 1000 that containsdetailed information about a stored content item selected in the kidszone, according to an embodiment of the invention. In the example shown,the selected content item is a specific episode of the “Thomas &Friends” series 1001. The specific episode's title 1002, as displayed onthe screen, is “Responsibility.” The screen describes some of thenotable event that are depicted in the episode—this enables potentialviewers, especially parents, to know about the substance of the selectedcontent item before allowing the DVR to actually present the contentitem. The screen also shows the content item's rating 1003 (in thiscase, “TV-Y”), a brief explanation of the content item's genre/categoryestablished by the guide data provider 1004 (in this case, “Children”),the content item's duration 1005, the channel from which the contentitem was obtained 1006 (in this case, “9 PBS”), the date and time atwhich the DVR began to obtain the content item 1007, and a “KZ” icon1008 that indicates that this is a content item that the DVR is allowedto present this content item while the DVR is in the kids zoneoperational mode.

In one embodiment of the invention, the “KZ” icon 1008 is shown on“program information” screens such as this one for all programs whoseattributes and characteristics pass the kids zone's restrictioncriteria—even if DVR 102 is not currently in the kids zone operationalmode; this allows parents to determine, from any operational mode,whether a particular content item will be accessible from the kids zone.A parent might discover, from the “KZ” icon, that a particular contentitem which the parent did not suspect to be accessible from within thekids zone actually is accessible from (i.e., can be presented from andcan be scheduled for recording from) within the kids zone. In response,a parent might take action to prevent the particular content item frombeing accessible within the kids zone in the future, as is discussedbelow.

The screen illustrated in FIG. 10 also contains menu items thatrepresent actions that may be taken relative to the selected contentitem. In the example shown, the menu items include items such as “play”1009, “delete now” 1010, “remove from kids zone” 1011, and “don't doanything” 1012. In one embodiment of the invention, user selection ofthe “play” menu item 1009 causes DVR 102 to present the selected contentitem (i.e., by reading data that represents the content item from theDVR's persistent storage device and sending signals that represent thecontent item to a display device such as a television). In oneembodiment of the invention, user selection of the “delete now” menuitem 1010 causes DVR 102 to remove the selected content item from all ofthe DVR's “now playing” lists (even though the selected content itemmight actually remain, at least temporarily, on the DVR's persistentstorage device in a recently deleted folder and is recoverable by theparent). In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the“don't do anything” menu item 1012 causes DVR 102 to display, onceagain, the “kids zone now playing” list of FIG. 9.

In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the “remove fromkids zone” 1011 causes DVR 102 to alter the restriction criteria thatare associated with the kids zone so that the selected content itembecomes added to the black list of content items that DVR 102 isprevented from presenting while in the kids zone operational mode. Inone embodiment of the invention, content items may be added to the blacklist from within the kids zone without supplying the previouslyestablished password, but in an alternative embodiment of the invention,selection of the “remove from kids zone” menu item 1011 causes DVR 102to prompt the user for the previously established password. In such analternative embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 does not add theselected content item to the black list unless the DVR's user suppliesthe correct password in response to the prompt; this prevents childrenfrom making the kids zone unnecessarily restrictive against theirparents wishes. In one embodiment of the invention, addition of theselected content item to the black list causes DVR 102 to display, onceagain, the “kids zone now playing” list of FIG. 9. However, the “kidszone now playing list” will no longer include the selected content item,because, as a result of the addition of the selected content item to theblack list, the selected content item will no longer satisfy therestriction criteria that are associated with the kids zone.

In one embodiment of the invention, at times during which DVR 102 is inthe kids zone operational mode, DVR 102 prevents the presentation ofcontent items whose attributes and characteristics do not satisfy thekids zone's restriction criteria, regardless of whether those contentitems are being broadcasted currently or were previously obtained andstored on a persistent storage device of DVR 102. In one embodiment ofthe invention, at times during which DVR 102 is in the kids zoneoperational mode, DVR 102 prevents the scheduling of the recording ofcontent items whose attributes and characteristics do not satisfy thekids zone's restriction criteria. In one embodiment of the invention,content items that are not associated with any rating are automaticallytreated as though they were associated with the most restrictive ratingpossible for purposes of determining whether those content items satisfythe kids zone's restriction criteria. A parent may specifically allow acontent item in the white list that is not associated with any rating.In one embodiment of the invention, content items that are notassociated with any rating are automatically associated with specialrating that allows a parent to allow or not allow content items that arenot rated. In one embodiment of the invention, a parent may turn on oroff the ability record programs or schedule recordings of programs whilein the kids mode. If the recording ability is turned on, then anyrecordings set in kids mode are not be able to cancel or preempt arecording set outside of the kids mode.

However, in one embodiment of the invention, during these times, DVR 102may still allow certain restriction criteria-failing content items to berecorded or otherwise obtained if (and only if) the recording of thosecontent items was scheduled while DVR 102 was not in the kids zoneoperational mode. While DVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode andis obtaining (e.g., recording or downloading) such a restrictioncriteria-failing content item, DVR 102 prevents the actual presentationof that content item. Therefore, in such an embodiment of the invention,DVR 102 prevents the presentation of restriction criteria-failingcontent items while DVR 102 is obtaining those content items duringtimes that DVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode.

FIGS. 28 and 29 illustrate an example of a DVR-presented screen 2800which contains a menu item “Messages and Settings” 2801 whose selectioncauses the DVR to display a “Messages and Settings” screen 2900 thatallows a user to select a menu item “Kids Zone Setup” 2901. FIG. 30illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 3000 which containsmenu items whose selection causes the DVR to initiate processes throughwhich DVR users can modify the kids zone settings, according to anembodiment of the invention. As shown, the menu items include “kidschannels” 3001, “not-allowed programs” 3002, “change age range” 3003,“change password” 3004, “modify rating settings” 3005, “disable kidszone” 3006, and “disable live TV” 3007. In one embodiment of theinvention, user selection of the “change age range” menu item 3003causes DVR 102 to present, to the DVR user, the age range selectionscreen described above with reference to FIG. 5. Through the age rangeselection mechanism, the DVR user can choose a different age range to beassociated with the kids zone. In response to the DVR user's selectionof a different age range, DVR 102 maps, to the kids zone, the “default”restriction criteria that are associated with the selected age range,which may be different than the restriction criteria which werepreviously mapped to the kids zone. In one embodiment of the invention,user selection of the “not-allowed programs” menu item causes DVR 102 topresent, to the DVR user, an interface through which the DVR user canchoose or otherwise specify content items that are to be added to theblack list of the kids zone's restriction criteria, thereby causing DVR102 to block the presentation of those content items during times thatDVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode.

In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the “kidschannels” menu item 3001 causes DVR 102 to present, to the DVR user, ascreen such as is shown in FIG. 31. FIG. 31 illustrates an example of aDVR-presented screen 3100 that lists channels and acts as an interfacethrough which a DVR user can choose which channels are allowable in thekids zone, according to an embodiment of the invention. In oneembodiment of the invention, in response to a user's selection of aparticular channel in the list, DVR 102 places a check mark in thecheckbox that is displayed next to that channel's identity 3102. In oneembodiment of the invention, in response to a user's selection of the“done” menu item 3101, DVR 102 adds, to the list of the kids zone'srestriction criteria, the identities of all of the channels whosecheckboxes contain a check mark, thereby allowing those channels to besurfed while in kids zone operational mode. In one embodiment of theinvention, during times that DVR 102 is in the kids zone operationalmode, DVR 102 permits the presentation of content items that are servedby channels whose identities are in the white list and have ratings thatare appropriate for the age level selected.

In one embodiment of the invention, the selection of the “modify ratingsettings” menu item 3005 allows the setting of content item ratings thatare allowed in the kids zone operational mode. In one embodiment of theinvention, the selection of the and “disable live TV” menu item 3007causes the DVR 102 to not allow viewing of live TV while in the kidszone operational mode.

3.2 Designating which Content Items are Kids Zone-Accessible

In one embodiment of the invention, the kids zone may be made a littleless restrictive, even from within the kids zone, by altering therestriction criteria that are associated with the kids zone so that therestriction criteria's white list includes one or more specified contentitems that previously were not contained therein. In this manner, aparent may customize the kids zone's settings and restriction criteriato differ, at least slightly, from the “default” settings andrestriction criteria that were associated with the kids zone when theparent selected the age range or other viewer category as describedabove with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 11 illustrates another view of the “kids zone now playing” listscreen of FIG. 9, according to an embodiment of the invention. Notably,in one embodiment of the invention, the “kids zone now playing” listscreen 1100 includes a prominent caption at the top of the screen 1101that enables a viewer to recognize that this list is the “kids nowplaying” list as opposed to the less restricted general “now playing”list of FIG. 8. In one embodiment, the background color of screen 1100is set to a color that a child can easily recognize that the DVR is inkids mode in case the child is not able to read. In the screen shown,the “add shows to kids zone” menu item 1102 has been highlighted inresponse to a DVR user's activation of selection controls on the DVR'sremote control. In one embodiment of the invention, user selection ofthis menu item causes DVR 102 to initiate a process by which the DVR'suser (usually a parent) may add user-selected content items to the whitelist of the kids zone's restriction criteria. As is discussed above, inone embodiment of the invention, restriction criteria that areassociated with the kids zone cannot be modified unless the DVR's usersupplies the correct password when prompted to do so.

In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the “add shows tokids zone” menu item shown in FIG. 11 causes DVR 102 to present thescreen illustrated in FIG. 12. FIG. 12 illustrates an example of aDVR-presented screen 1200 that contains menu items that representvarious actions that can be taken to add user-selected content items tothe kids zone, thereby making those user-selected content items“unrestricted” in the kids zone, according to an embodiment of theinvention. The menu items shown in the example of FIG. 12 include an“add virtual channels” menu item 1201, an “add shows from the nowplaying list” menu item 1202, a “search for children's programming” menuitem 1203, and a “done adding shows to kids zone” menu item 1204. In oneembodiment of the invention, user selection of the “done adding shows tokids zone” menu item 1204 causes DVR 102 to present, again, the screenthat DVR 102 was presenting prior to presenting the screen illustratedin FIG. 12.

Different ways for a parent to add content items to the white list ofthe kids zone's restriction criteria (thereby allowing DVR 102 topresent those content items during times that DVR 102 is in the kidszone operational mode) are discussed below.

3.2.1 Adding Content Items from Virtual Channels/Guru Guides

Parents of children might find the opinions and recommendations ofothers helpful when deciding which content items, channels, and otherentities will be accessible from within the kids zone. In one embodimentof the invention, a parent may view and select an entire list ofrecommended suggestions that has been provided by an interested party,such as a parent-oriented organization. In one embodiment of theinvention, each recommended suggestion comprises a set of criteria. Theset of criteria may specifically identify one or more content items,channels, URLs, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the set of criteriamay comprise criteria that some content items, channels, URLs, etc.,might or might not satisfy. The content items, channels, URLs, etc.,that satisfy a recommended suggestion's criteria are described herein asbeing “identified by” that recommended suggestion, even though therecommended suggestion might not expressly identify those content items,channels, URLs, etc., by name, title, or other specific identifier. Inone embodiment of the invention, rather than selecting an entire list ofrecommended suggestions that have been provided by an interested party,a parent may select a mere subset of the entire list—only therecommended suggestions with which the parent agrees, for example. Aparent might select from among recommended suggestion lists that havebeen provided by several different interested parties.

In one embodiment of the invention, content items and other entitiesthat satisfy the criteria of a parentally selected recommendedsuggestion are automatically added to the kids zone (e.g., by placingsuch content items or entities in the white list of the kids zone'srestriction criteria). Because the parties that supply the recommendedsuggestions purport to have some expertise regarding the classificationof content that children should or should not be watching, parties thatprovide recommended suggestions are also called “gurus,” and the listsof recommended suggestions that these gurus provide are also called“guru guides.” The parties can also be considered as trusted parties.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR-obtained content items thatsatisfy a list of recommended suggestions' criteria are all placed intoa “folder” that is associated with that list. Such a folder containsonly content items that satisfy the folder's corresponding recommendedsuggestion lists' criteria. In one embodiment of the invention, somefolders that correspond to recommended suggestion lists appear in the“kids zone now playing” list. User selection of such a folder causes DVR102 to present, to the DVR user, a list of the content items that arecontained within that folder. From one perspective, such a folder may beviewed as a sort of “virtual channel” in the same way that all of thecontent items that are broadcast on a particular television channelmight be placed automatically within a folder that correspondsspecifically to that channel, all of the content items that satisfy arecommended suggestion lists' criteria might be placed automaticallywithin a folder that corresponds specifically to that recommendedsuggestion list. Thus, folders that correspond specifically torecommended suggestion lists, or user-selected sub-portions of thoselists, are also called “virtual channels.” Virtual channels and guruguides are described in greater detail in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/649,444, entitled “RECOMMENDED RECORDING AND DOWNLOADING GUIDES”,owned by the Applicant and incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety. In one embodiment of the invention, the programs appear infolders when kids mode is not active and, when kids mode is active, theprograms are shown in the “kids zone now playing” list and not infolders because some age ranges may not understand the concept of afolder or, alternatively, series of programs may appear in folders.

In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the “add virtualchannels” menu item 1201 shown in FIG. 12 causes DVR 102 to present, tothe DVR user, the screen illustrated in FIG. 13. FIG. 13 illustrates anexample of a DVR-presented screen 1300 that briefly introduces andexplains the concept of virtual channels, according to an embodiment ofthe invention. In one embodiment of the invention, a user's selection ofthe “press SELECT to continue” menu item 1301 causes DVR 102 to presenta screen that lists menu items that represent various categories of guruguides. Among these categories is a category labeled “kids zonechannels.” FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 1700that lists menu items that represent various categories of guru guides,according to an embodiment of the invention. In one embodiment of theinvention, user selection of the menu item that represents the “kidszone channels” category 1701 causes DVR 102 to present, to the DVR user,the screen shown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 1500 that showsvarious different interested parties (“gurus”) that a parent can selectin order to view the recommended suggestion list (“guru guide”) of thatinterested party, according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 15indicates that the category of guru guides currently being displayed inthe “kids zone channels” category 1501. As shown in FIG. 15, the guruswho offer guru guides in this category include “Common Sense Media”1502, “Mothers of Preschoolers” 1503, and “Parents Television Council”1504. The set of gurus illustrated in FIG. 15 is merely an example;actual lists of gurus in this category may comprise more, fewer, ordifferent gurus than those illustrated.

In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of a guru from amongthe several gurus shown in the screen of FIG. 15 causes DVR 102 to showa screen similar to the screen illustrated in FIG. 16. FIG. 16illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 1600 that showsdetailed information about a user-selected guru, according to anembodiment of the invention. In this example, the user-selected guru is“Mothers of Preschoolers” 1601 and the screen explains that the guru isan organization that cares about the education and development oftoddlers. In one embodiment of the invention, the screen that showsdetails about a user-selected guru also indicates an age range for whichthe guru's recommended suggestions are, in the guru's opinion,appropriate.

The screen illustrated in FIG. 16 also comprises menu items for “addthis channel” 1602, “view upcoming” 1603, and “don't do anything” 1604.In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the “add thischannel” menu item causes DVR 102 to add, to the white list of the kidszone's restriction criteria, all content items that are identified byany of the recommended suggestions in the guru guide that is associatedwith the user-selected guru. However, as is discussed above, inalternative embodiments of the invention, DVR 102 presents, to the DVRuser, mechanisms by which the DVR user can view the recommendedsuggestions of the user-selected guru, and select some recommendedsuggestions but not others. In such embodiments of the invention, onlythe content items that are identified by the user-selected recommendedsuggestions are added to the white list of the kids zone's restrictioncriteria. Recommended suggestions from more than one guru's guru guidemay be selected for the same kid zone. In one embodiment of theinvention, the screen 1600 allows the user to cancel subscription to theguide if the user has already subscribed to the particular guru guide.

As is discussed above, in one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102maintains one or more folders that correspond to different virtualchannels. In one embodiment of the invention, for each virtual channel,DVR 102 places, in a folder that corresponds to that virtual channel,content items that are identified by the recommended suggestions thatdefine that virtual channel. FIG. 22 illustrates an example of aDVR-presented screen 2200 that includes a folder that corresponds to avirtual channel, according to an embodiment of the invention. In theexample illustrated, among other content items shown in the “kids zonenow playing” list is a folder titled “Mothers of Preschoolers” 2201. Thescreen indicates that four content items are currently contained in thefolder. DVR 102 automatically places, into this folder, only contentitems that are identified by the recommended suggestions in the “Mothersof Preschoolers” guru guide.

In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the “viewupcoming” menu item 1603 shown in FIG. 16 causes DVR 102 to present, tothe DVR user, a screen that shows a list of content items that (a) arecurrently being broadcast or which will be broadcast in the near futureand (b) are identified by the recommended suggestions in theuser-selected guru's guru guide. In one embodiment of the invention, thecontent items are listed in order of how soon they are going to bebroadcast, with the content items that are currently being broadcast, ifany, listed first. In one embodiment of the invention, user selection ofone or more content items from this list causes the selected contentitems to be added to the white list of the kids zone's restrictioncriteria, thus making the selected content items accessible from withinthe kids zone.

FIG. 23 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 2300 thatcontains detailed information about an upcoming episode of a televisionprogram, according to an embodiment of the invention. In one embodimentof the invention, a DVR user may cause DVR 102 to present such a screenby selecting a particular content item from the list of content itemsthat DVR 102 shows in response to the user selection of the “viewupcoming” menu item 1603 of FIG. 16. The screen shown in FIG. 23includes menu items for “record this episode” 2301, “get a season pass”2302, “view upcoming episodes” 2303, “kids zone” 2304, and “don't doanything” 2305. Next to the “kids zone” menu item 2304 is the text “notallowed” 2306, which indicates that this upcoming episode's attributesand characteristics do not currently satisfy the kids zone's restrictioncriteria. In contrast, in the screen shown in FIG. 24, next to the “kidszone” menu item 2401 is the text “allowed” 2402, which indicates thatthis upcoming episode's attributes and characteristics currently satisfythe kids zone's restriction criteria. In one embodiment of theinvention, user selection of the “kids zone” menu item 2304, 2401, inthe screens shown in FIGS. 23 and 24 causes DVR 102 to toggle theaccessibility of the pertinent content item by adding the content itemto the white list and removing the content item from the black list, orvice-versa.

In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the “get a seasonpass” menu item 2302 causes DVR 102 to schedule the recording of allepisodes of the pertinent content item that have never before beenbroadcast on the channel on which the pertinent content item is to bebroadcast (i.e., all “first run” but not “repeat” episodes of theseries) if the user selects a menu item “first run only.” In oneembodiment of the invention, selection of this menu item causes DVR 102to add all such episodes to the white list. In one embodiment, the usercan select other options to record programs for a season pass such as“all” for all showings and “repeats and first run.”

3.2.2 Adding Content Items from the Now Playing List

Another way in which a parent may un-restrict selected content items forthe kids zone is by selecting those content items from among contentitems that already have been obtained and stored by DVR 102. Some of thecontent items already obtained and stored by DVR 102 might haveattributes or characteristics that currently do not satisfy the kidszone's restriction criteria, making those content items currentlyinaccessible from the kids zone.

As is illustrated in the example shown in FIG. 18, in one embodiment ofthe invention, a user may select a menu item labeled “add shows from thenow playing list” 1802. User selection of this menu item causes DVR 102to present, to the DVR user, a screen similar to the example screenshown in FIG. 19.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 1900 that showsuser-selectable content items that the DVR has already obtained andstored, according to an embodiment of the invention. In one embodimentof the invention, the content items shown on this screen are the same asthose that would be shown in the general “now playing” list 800 of FIG.8. As is shown in the example of FIG. 19, next to each content item'stitle is an empty checkbox 1901. In one embodiment of the invention,user selection of a content item's title causes DVR 102 to place anddisplay a check mark in the checkbox 2001 next to that content item'stitle, as is illustrated in FIG. 20. After the DVR user has selected allof the currently stored content items that the DVR user wants to makeaccessible from the kids zone, the DVR user may select the “done” menuitem 2002. In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the“done” menu item 2002 causes DVR 102 to add, to the white list of thekids zone's restriction criteria, identities of all of the content itemsnext to which a check mark has been placed.

In one embodiment of the invention, user selection of the “done” menuitem 2002 causes DVR 102 to present a screen that informs the DVR userabout which of the content items were made accessible from the kidszone. FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 2100 thatlists the selected content items that have been added to the kids zone2101, according to an embodiment of the invention.

In one embodiment of the invention, the content items shown in theselection screen may include, among potentially other content items,content items that represent multi-episode series of a televisionprogram as well as content items that represent single episode instancesof such multi-episode series. In such an embodiment of the invention,user selection of a content item that represents a single episodeinstance of a multi-episode series causes DVR 102 to check mark acontent item that represents only that single episode instance to becheck-marked without causing DVR 102 to check mark any content item thatrepresents any other episode instance of that series. Under suchcircumstances, when the DVR user selects the “done” menu item 2002 asdiscussed above, single episode instances represented by thecheck-marked “single episode” content items will be added to the whitelist of the kids zone's restriction criteria, but the other unselectedsingle episode instances of the same series will not be added to thatwhite list. However, in the case of check-marked content items thatrepresent whole multi-episode series, all of the episode instances ofthe series are added to the white list when the “done” menu item 2002 isselected.

3.2.3 Searching for Children's Content to Add

Another way that a parent can add content items to the white list of thekids zone's restriction criteria is by instructing DVR 102 to search forchildren's programming. In one embodiment of the invention, in responseto a DVR user's selection of the “search for children's programming”menu item 1203 shown in FIG. 12, DVR 102 searches electronic schedulesof to-be-broadcast content items for content items that have attributesand characteristics that signify that those content items areappropriate for viewing by children. In one embodiment of the invention,DVR 102 searches for content items whose attributes and characteristicssatisfy the current restriction criteria that are associated with thekids zone.

According to one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 provides aninterface shown in FIG. 14 through which a parent can browse through anelectronic programming guide (“EPG”) 1400 during times that DVR 102 isnot in the kids zone operational mode. An example of an EPG is describedin U.S. Pat. No. 6,642,939 entitled “MULTIMEDIA SCHEDULE PRESENTATIONSYSTEM”, owned by the Applicant and incorporated by reference herein inits entirety. In response to the parent's selection (e.g., using the DVRremote control) of a content item that is identified in the EPG, DVR 102presents a screen that shows detailed information about the selectedcontent item. The detailed information may include the content item'stitle, a description of the content item's subject matter (e.g., plot),the year in which the content item was produced, the content item'srating, third-party reviews of the content item, etc. The third-partyreviews may include reviews given and submitted by a ratingsorganization and/or by other users of other DVRs. Such reviews mayindicate, for different age ranges of children, whether the reviewerdeems the content item to be appropriate for viewing by children ofthose age ranges. In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 provides amechanism through which parents can filter out, from the set of allreviews, reviews that are from people other than kids zone users orparents, leaving a set of reviews that are only from kids zone users orparents. Based on the reviews, a parent can either select or refrainfrom selecting various content items for inclusion within the white listof the kids zone's restriction criteria.

In one embodiment of the invention, in response to a DVR user'sactivation of a specified control (e.g., a specified button on the DVRremote control), DVR 102 receives user input that is indicative of arating for a specified content item. The rating represents the DVRuser's opinion concerning whether or not the specified content item issuitable for viewing by children of a specified age group. In oneembodiment of the invention, DVR 102 sends (e.g., over a network) thisuser-supplied rating to a service provider. The service provider maycompile one or more of such user-supplied ratings (which may be receivedfrom different users of different DVRs) and associate the ratings withthe content items to which the ratings pertain. Thereafter, the serviceprovider may provide (e.g., through a network), to various DVRs,compiled rating information from multiple different DVR users. Each DVRthat receives such compiled rating information may present that ratinginformation to the users of that DVR in connection with the contentitems to which the compiled rating information pertains. Thus, each DVR(e.g., DVRs 102 and 104, among others) may receive, for content items,ratings that are a collaborative product of a community of people.

3.3 Restricting Live Presentations and Descriptive Information

A DVR can play previously recorded content items, but also can presentcontent items that are currently being broadcast or which are otherwisecurrently being obtained by the DVR. Content items that are currentlybeing obtained or received by the DVR are called “live presentations.”For example, a television program that is being broadcast on a channelto which the DVR is currently tuned is a “live presentation.”

Often, a parent will not want their children to be able to view certainlive presentations. In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 may beconfigured so that, during times that DVR 102 is in the kids zoneoperational mode, DVR 102 prevents itself from presenting any livepresentation; DVR 102 may be configured so that, during such times, DVR102 may not present any content item that DVR 102 has not alreadyobtained and stored, even if that content item's attributes andcharacteristics actually do satisfy the kids zone's restrictioncriteria.

However, some parents might find this course of action overlyrestrictive. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 maybe configured so that, during times that DVR 102 is in the kids zoneoperational mode, DVR 102 prevents the presentation of all livepresentations that do not satisfy the kids zone's restriction criteria,but allows the presentation of live presentations that satisfy the kidszone's restriction criteria, even while DVR 102 is currently obtainingor receiving those live presentations.

At various times, DVR 102 may present, to a DVR user, various kinds ofinformation about a live presentation (e.g., in response to a user'spressing of an “info” button on a DVR remote control while a livepresentation is being presented). In one embodiment of the invention,the information that DVR 102 is allowed to display about a livepresentation is restricted to certain user-selected kinds of informationabout that presentation. For example, in one embodiment of theinvention, DVR 102 may be configured to display, in an information bar,only information items such as a content item's title, the contentitem's rating, and the identity of the channel from which the contentitem is being received. FIG. 25 illustrates an example of aDVR-presented screen 2500 that shows an informational banner 2501 thatomits restricted kinds of information about a content item, according toan embodiment of the invention. In one embodiment of the invention, DVR102 prevents a description of the subject matter (e.g., plot) of acontent item from being shown in any informational banner while DVR 102is in the kids zone operational mode. Parents may find the deliberateexclusion of some kinds of information about content items to be useful,because information about some content items may include graphicdescriptions that are unsuitable for children to see.

Although the description above refers to limiting the kinds ofinformation that DVR 102 may present about a content item that is a livepresentation, embodiments of the invention also include mechanisms bywhich specified kinds of information about other content items may beomitted from presentation while DVR 102 is in the kids zone operationalmode. For example, in one embodiment of the invention, while DVR 102 isin the kids zone operational mode, certain parent-selected kinds ofinformation (e.g., rating, plot description, etc.) are omitted from theEPG and/or other informational dialogs that DVR 102 might usuallypresent in response to a user's pressing of a “guide” button on a DVRremote control. In one embodiment of the invention, whenever DVR 102presents an EPG while DVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode, DVR102 omits, from the EPG, channels that are blocked according to the kidszone's restriction criteria. The absence of the blocked channels may beobscured from children by DVR 102 (a) closing the gap left by theabsence of the blocked channels in the EPG and (b) omitting channelnumbers from the EPG, thereby preventing children from deducing fromnon-sequential channel numbers that one or more channels are missingfrom the EPG. Alternatively, the blocked information may be visuallyobscured (e.g., by “graying out”) the forbidden information in the EPG.In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 may be configured toprevent, entirely, any EPG from being presented while DVR 102 is in thekids zone operational mode.

In one embodiment of the invention, while DVR 102 is in the kids zoneoperational mode, instead of presenting a traditional EPG in whichto-be-broadcast content items are presented in a time slot-column,channel row grid, DVR 102 instead presents a list that contains onlycontent items that satisfy the kids zone restriction criteria. Next toeach content item, DVR 102 may present the time at which the contentitem is scheduled to be broadcast. Such a list may omit the identities,including the channel numbers, of the channels on which the contentsitem will be broadcast. Thus, while DVR 102 is in the kids zoneoperational mode, information about upcoming blocked content items maybe completely omitted from any information that DVR 102 presents to theDVR users. Such omission may be made to the extent that the DVR usersare not even made aware, by any information that DVR 102 presents, thatsuch blocked content items, and the channels on which they arebroadcast, even exist.

Often, DVR remote controls and on-surface DVR consoles include controlsthat allow a DVR user to cause a DVR to tune to a channel with anext-highest or next-lowest number than the number of the channel towhich the DVR is currently tuned. Indeed, if the EPG has been electivelydisabled entirely during times that the DVR is in the kids zoneoperational mode, the use of such controls may comprise the only meansby which a DVR user can cause the DVR to change channels while the DVRis in such a mode. In one embodiment of the invention, during times thatDVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode, in response to a DVRuser's activation of a control (e.g., a button on a remote control) thatwould ordinarily cause DVR 102 to tune to a channel with a next-highestchannel number, DVR 102 determines whether (a) that channel is blockedby the kids zone's restriction criteria or (b) the content itemcurrently being provided through that channel fails to satisfy the kidszone's restriction criteria. If DVR 102 determines that either of theseconditions is true, then instead of tuning to that channel, DVR 102performs the same determination relative to channel with thenext-highest channel number after that. DVR 102 may repeat this process(unbeknownst to the DVR user) until DVR 102 has located a channel thatis not blocked, and through which no restriction criteria-failingcontent item is currently being provided. Once DVR 102 has located sucha channel, DVR 102 may tune to that channel. DVR 102 may employ asimilar process in response to the DVR user's selection of a controlthat would ordinarily cause DVR 102 to tune to a channel with anext-lowest channel number, except that under such circumstances, DVR102 would search for an appropriate channel in the opposite direction.DVR 102 also may employ a similar process in response to the DVR user'sdirect entry of a channel number of a kids zone-blocked channel, withDVR 102 unobtrusively finding and tuning to a next closest channel thatis permissible in view of kids zone restrictions. In such an embodimentof the invention, DVR 102 may deliberately omit, from presentation tothe DVR user, the number, name, and any other identification of thechannel to which DVR 102 ultimately tunes, so that the DVR user remainscompletely oblivious to the fact that DVR 102 skipped any channel whiletuning. DVR 102 may alternatively tune to the next higher or lowerchannel that is on the allowed kids zone channel list and then decide ifthe content item can be displayed or not displayed.

In one embodiment of the invention, during times that DVR 102 is in thekids zone operational mode, if DVR 102 is somehow tuned to a kidszone-blocked channel or a channel that is currently serving a kidszone-forbidden content item, then instead of presenting the content itemthat is currently being served on that channel, DVR 102 displays ascreen such as the one that is illustrated in FIG. 26. FIG. 26illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 2600 that informs auser that the channel to which the user wants the DVR to tune is notavailable while the DVR is in the kids zone operational mode, accordingto an embodiment of the invention. The screen may show a “floating”image 2601 (i.e., an image that moves about the screen in variousdirections) that children might enjoy watching. The screen may suggestthat the DVR user tune to a different, kids zone-allowable channel,and/or the screen may suggest that the DVR user select a stored contentitem from the kids zone-allowable stored content items shown in the“kids zone now playing” list 2602. Alternatively, DVR 102 mayautomatically select and play one or more kids zone restrictioncriteria-satisfying content items that are already stored on DVR 102. Inone embodiment of the invention, the DVR 102 may find that all of thetuners in the DVR are occupied recording programs that the parents haveselected. In that case, the DVR 102 may display a screen 2700 in FIG. 27that informs a user that the viewing of live presentations is notcurrently available.

In one embodiment of the invention, while DVR 102 is in the kids zoneoperational mode, DVR 102 may record or otherwise obtain and store acontent item that was previously scheduled (outside of the kids zone)for recording, but whose presentation is not allowed during times thatDVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode. Under some DVRconfigurations, this will not cause any problems, because DVR 102 willbe able to present content items from a kids zone-allowable channelwhile concurrently but secretly recording content items from another,kids zone-forbidden channel. However, if the DVR's configuration doesnot permit the viewing of one channel during the concurrent recording ofcontent from another channel (e.g., if only one audiovisual input iscurrently connected to the DVR), then the DVR might need to perform aprocess that allows the scheduled recording to continue uninterruptedwithout presenting, to the DVR user, the content item currently beingrecorded.

Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, while DVR 102 is recording orotherwise obtaining and storing a content item whose recording orstorage was scheduled prior to the placement of DVR 102 into the kidszone operational mode, DVR 102 prevents the channel from being changedin response to any user request or command. Under such circumstances,DVR 102 may ignore a user's activation of the channel-changing controlson the DVR remote control or the DVR on-surface console. In oneembodiment of the invention, DVR 102 prevents the currently in-progressrecording from being interrupted or canceled under such circumstances.Additionally, while DVR 102 is recording the content item under suchcircumstances, if the content item does not satisfy the kids zone'srestriction criteria, or if the channel from which DVR 102 is receivingthe content item is blocked by the kids zone's restriction criteria,then instead of presenting the content item that is currently beingrecorded, DVR 102 may display a screen such as the one illustrated inFIG. 27. FIG. 27 illustrates an example of a DVR-presented screen 2700that informs a user that the viewing of live presentations is notcurrently available while the DVR is in the kids zone operational mode2702, according to an embodiment of the invention. The screen may show a“floating” image 2701 (i.e., an image that moves about the screen invarious directions) that children might enjoy watching. The screen maysuggest that the DVR user select a stored content item from the kidszone-allowable stored content items shown in the “kids zone now playing”list. DVR 102 typically is able to play an already-stored content itemat the same time that DVR 102 is recording another content item.Alternatively, DVR 102 may automatically select and play one or morekids zone restriction criteria-satisfying content items that are alreadystored on DVR 102.

Additionally, under circumstances where DVR 102 is recording, duringtimes that DVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode, a content itemthat DVR 102 cannot present due to that content item's failure tosatisfy the kids zone's restriction criteria, the screen that DVR 102presents instead of the content item, as described above, may omit (a)all information that identifies the content item that is being recordedand (b) all information that identifies that channel on which DVR 102 isreceiving that content item. Thus, parents' privacy may be protectedfrom the prying eyes of curious children who might not have the capacityto understand their parents' desires.

3.4 Handling Conflicting Scheduled Recordings

Under some circumstances, scheduling conflicts may arise. For example, aparent might have previously scheduled a recording of a first contentitem during a time at which DVR 102 was not in the kids zone operationalmode. Later, while DVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode, a childmight attempt to schedule a recording of a second content item thatsatisfies the kids zone's restriction criteria, but which is to bebroadcast during a time interval that at least partially overlaps withthe time interval during which DVR 102 needs to record the first contentitem. In some cases, DVR 102 may be unable to record the first contentitem and the second content item simultaneously. This situation canoccur when the DVR has a single tuner that can only record one programat a time. DVRs that have multiple tuners perform a conflict check foreach tuner in the DVR.

In one embodiment of the invention, recordings of content items thatwere scheduled while DVR 102 was not in the kids zone operational modeare given a higher priority than recordings of content items that werescheduled while DVR 102 was in the kids zone operational mode. In suchan embodiment of the invention, when a DVR user attempts to schedule arecording of a particular content item while DVR 102 is in the kids zoneoperational mode, DVR 102 determines whether that recording wouldconflict with any other recordings which were scheduled while DVR 102was not in the kids zone operational mode. If there would be a conflict,then DVR 102 does not allow the scheduling of the recording of theparticular content item. Instead, DVR 102 may inform the DVR user thatthe recording of the particular content item cannot be scheduled due toa conflict, without giving the DVR user any information about theidentity or nature of the other content item(s) with which the recordingof the particular content item would conflict. DVR 102 proceeds with thescheduled recording(s) of the content items that were scheduled whileDVR 102 was not in the kids zone operational mode. In contrast, if a DVRuser attempts to schedule a recording of a content item while DVR 102 isin the kids zone operational mode, and that recording would conflictonly with other recordings that were also scheduled while DVR 102 was inthe kids zone operational mode, then DVR 102 may provide the user with achoice of which recording should take priority over the others, and thenschedule recordings according to the DVR user's choice.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 is configured to record,automatically, certain suggested content items. Such content items maybe suggested (e.g., automatically selected by DVR 102) based on theprevious recording activities of DVR 102. Additionally or alternatively,such content items may be suggested based on the age range that wasselected when the kids zone was established. Additionally oralternatively, such content items may be suggested based on therestriction criteria that are associated with the kids zone. In oneembodiment of the invention, a parent must go through the list ofsuggested content items that were recorded and manually allow programsin the list to appear in the kids zone now playing list. In oneembodiment of the invention, DVR 102 can be configured either to allowDVR users to override the recordings of suggested content items whileDVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode, or to prevent DVR usersfrom overriding the recording of suggested content items while DVR 102is in the kids zone operational mode. In one embodiment of theinvention, DVR 102 can be configured to allow recordings that arescheduled while DVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode to takeprecedence over conflicting scheduled recordings of re-run contentitems, but not over conflicting scheduled recordings of first-runcontent items.

3.5 Executable Content

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 is capable of downloading(e.g., over a network) and executing programs such as games and otherapplications. A service provider who provides these programs mayassociate these programs with ratings which indicate their suitabilityfor users of different ages. In one embodiment of the invention, duringtimes that DVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode, DVR 102 doesnot permit the execution, by DVR 102, of any programs that areassociated with ratings that fail to satisfy the kids zone's restrictioncriteria.

3.6 Automatic Standby Mode

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 automatically enters into astandby mode after DVR 102 has not been used for at least a specifiedamount of time. DVR 102 may be configured to place itself in the kidszone operational mode automatically at any time that DVR 102 leavesstandby mode (e.g., in response to some activity by the DVR user). DVR102 may be configured to require the user submission of the correctpassword before DVR 102 will allow the kids zone operational mode to beexited.

Additionally, in one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 may beconfigured to place itself in the kids zone operational modeautomatically whenever DVR 102 powers on. Thus, in such an embodiment ofthe invention, if DVR 102 loses power due to a power outage, or due to achild resetting or unplugging DVR 102, DVR 102 will automatically resumeoperation within the kids zone after power is restored. This featurehelps to prevent children from “working around,” through nefariousmeans, the parental restrictions imposed by the kids zone.

3.7 Requesting Parental Approval of Recording in Kids Zone

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 may be configured toprevent, entirely, the scheduling of any recording or storage of anycontent items during times that DVR 102 is in the kids zone operationalmode. Alternatively, DVR 102 may be configured to allow, during timesthat DVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode, the scheduling of therecording or storage of content items that satisfy the kids zone'srestriction criteria, but only those content items.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 provides an interfacethrough which a DVR user such as a child can request the futurerecording of a particular content item that is not currently allowed inthe kids zone. In such an embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 providesan interface through which a DVR user such as a parent can view suchrequests while DVR 102 is not in the kids zone operational mode. Throughthis latter interface, DVR 102 may receive the parent's approval ordenial of the requests that were made while DVR 102 was in the kids zoneoperational mode. In one embodiment of the invention, when a parentapproves such a request, DVR 102 responsively schedules the recording ofthe requested content item, provided that the recording does notconflict with another higher priority scheduled recording. Additionally,once the requested and approved content item has been recorded, DVR 102makes the presentation of that content item available to DVR users whileDVR 102 is in the kids zone operational mode.

3.8 Handling Failed Password Attempts

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 may be configured to takespecified action in response to receiving a specified number ofincorrect passwords. For example, DVR 102 may be configured so that, inresponse to receiving an incorrect password, DVR 102 does not allow theDVR user to re-attempt to enter the password until a specified durationof time has passed. In one embodiment of the invention, the length ofthis duration automatically increases with each consecutive entry of anincorrect password.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 is configured to not permituse of the menus or playing of programs automatically, and to refrainfrom restarting for a specified duration of time, in response toreceiving, consecutively, a specified number of incorrect passwords. Forexample, after DVR 102 has received five incorrect passwords,uninterrupted by the receipt of any correct passwords, DVR 102 may shutoff and prevent itself from restarting for a duration of four hours.

3.9 Restricting Presentation Through Play Lists

In one embodiment of the invention, while DVR 102 is not in the kidszone operational mode, DVR 102 receives, from a DVR user such as aparent, a set of identities of user-selected content items. DVR 102 alsoreceives, from the DVR user, a command which places DVR 102 into a “playlist” mode of operation. In this mode of operation, DVR 102 is in thekids zone operational mode, but DVR 102 will present each of the contentitems that are in the selected set, one after another, and only thosecontent items. In one embodiment of the invention, if DVR 102 iscurrently in the “play list” operational mode and DVR 102 has finishedpresenting all of the content items in the selected set, then DVR 102automatically shuts off and will not restart for a specified duration oftime. In one embodiment of the invention, if DVR 102 is currently in the“play list” operational mode and DVR 102 has finished presenting all ofthe content items in the selected set, then DVR 102 prevents any othercontent items from being presented until the correct password issubmitted.

In one embodiment of the invention, in addition to the set of selectedcontent items, DVR 102 receives user input that specifies a maximumduration of time that the “play list” mode of operation should beactive. In one embodiment of the invention, if DVR 102 is currently inthe “play list” operational mode, then, after an amount of time equal tothe specified maximum duration has passed since the time that DVR 102was placed in the “play list” operational mode, DVR 102 automaticallyshuts off and will not restart for a specified duration of time. In oneembodiment of the invention, if DVR 102 is currently in the “play list”operational mode, then after an amount of time equal to the specifiedmaximum duration has passed since the time that DVR 102 was placed inthe “play list” operational mode, DVR 102 prevents any other contentitems from being presented until the correct password is submitted.

3.10 Restricting Presentation Through Timers

In one embodiment of the invention, while DVR 102 is not in the kidszone operational mode, DVR 102 receives, from a DVR user such as aparent, a specified amount of time to which a timer is to be set. DVR102 also receives, from the DVR user, a command which places DVR 102into a “timed” mode of operation. In this mode of operation, DVR 102 isin the kids zone operational mode, but DVR 102 will only allow contentitems to be presented for a limited time after being placed in the“timed” operational mode. In one embodiment of the invention, if DVR 102is currently in the “timed” operational mode, then after an amount oftime equal to the specified timer amount has passed since the time thatDVR 102 was placed in the “timed” operational mode, DVR 102automatically shuts off and will not restart for another specifiedduration of time. In one embodiment of the invention, if DVR 102 iscurrently in the “timed” operational mode, then after an amount of timeequal to the specified timer amount has passed since the time that DVR102 was placed in the “timed” operational mode, DVR 102 prevents anyother content items from being presented until the correct password issubmitted. DVR 102 may present a screen that informs the DVR user thatthe allotted kids zone maximum viewing time has been reached.

In one embodiment of the invention, the “timer” only runs while DVR 102is in the kids zone operational mode; during intervals of time while DVR102 is not in the kids zone operational mode (including intervals oftime during which DVR 102 is not powered on), the “timer” temporarilystops running until DVR 102 is placed once again into the kids zoneoperational mode. Thus, a parent may use the “timer” feature to preventtheir children from watching more than a parent-approved amount oftelevision in the kids zone.

In one embodiment of the invention, while DVR 102 is not in the kidszone operational mode, DVR 102 receives, from a DVR user such as aparent, information that specifies a starting time-of-day and an endingtime-of-day. In such an embodiment of the invention, after the startingand ending times-of-day have been specified, DVR 102 does not allowcontent items to be presented during times-of-day that DVR 102 is in thekids zone operational mode unless those times-of-day fall within thetime interval defined by the starting and ending times-of-day. In oneembodiment of the invention, rather than receiving, from the DVR user,information that specifies only one starting time-of-day and one endingtime-of-day, DVR 102 receives information that specifies separatestarting and ending times-of-day for each day of the week. DVR 102enforces these time-of-day restrictions based on which day of the weekthe current day falls.

3.11 Restricting Presentation of DVD Content

Expanding upon the methods described throughout for allowing and notallowing content items to be displayed while the DVR 102 is in the kidszone operational mode, the DVR 102 can allow a parent to filter DVDcontent and create white and black lists. A DVR with an integrated DVDplayer/recorder is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/418,646, entitled “DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDER SYSTEM WITH AN INTEGRATEDDVD RECORDING DEVICE”, owned by the Applicant and incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

When a DVD is loaded into the DVD player integrated in the DVR 102, theDVR 102 reads the DVD's content information included in the DVD. The DVDcontent information may include the DVD content's title, rating(possibly an MPAA rating), actor names, director name, genre, etc. Theparent has the ability to define many aspects of the DVR's ability toautomatically filter DVD content in the same manner as content items areallowed or not allowed.

The DVD's title and other information are processed by the DVR 102 andappear on the Now Playing list 800. In one embodiment of the invention,a user can see that the DVD is listed on the Now Playing list and selectthe DVD to determine if the DVD's content can be viewed in the kids zoneoperational mode. FIG. 34 illustrates an example of a DVR-presentedscreen 3400 that contains detailed information about the content on theDVD. In the example shown, the DVD content has a title of “Thomas &Friends” 3401. The screen has a synopsis (if included in the DVD) of thecontent. In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 obtains any missinginformation such as the synopsis from a DVD catalog over the Internetconnection. The screen also shows the content item's rating 3403 (inthis case, “TV-Y”), a brief explanation of the content item'sgenre/category established by the guide data provider 3404 (in thiscase, “Children”), the content item's duration 3405. In one embodimentof the invention, the “KZ” icon 3410 is shown to indicate that the DVDcontent passes the kids zone's restriction criteria.

In the example shown, the menu items include items such as “play” 3406,“allow in kids zone” 3407, “hide from kids zone” 3408, and “don't doanything” 3409. In one embodiment of the invention, user selection ofthe “play” menu item 3406 causes DVR 102 to play the DVD. In oneembodiment of the invention, user selection of the “allow in kids zone”menu item 3407 causes DVR 102 to add the DVD's content information tothe kids zone white list. In one embodiment of the invention, userselection of the “hide from kids zone” menu item 3408 causes DVR 102 toadd the DVD's content information to the kids zone black list. In oneembodiment of the invention, user selection of the “don't do anything”menu item 3409 causes DVR 102 to go back to the now playing list. Theuser can edit the white or black list to remove an item from the listor, once an item is on either list, DVR 102 displays a menu item toremove the item from the respective list when a screen such as screen3400 is displayed to the user.

If the DVD content is approved by the user and can be played in the kidszone operational mode, then DVR 102 saves the DVD's content informationin the white list. If the user decides that the DVD's content is notsuitable for playing in the kids zone operational mode, then DVR 102adds the DVD's content information to the black list. The DVR 102 canreference the white list and black list to determine if a DVD that hasbeen inserted into the DVD player can be played in the kids zoneoperational mode. Users can insert DVDs that they own into the DVDplayer in DVR 102 to catalog the DVDs and set the viewing permissionsfor each DVD.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 is connected to theInternet. A user can display via DVR 102 a catalog of published DVDs.DVR 102 accesses the catalog through its Internet connection. Thecatalog can be provided by a service or any other source, e.g., a guruguide that lists DVDs. The user can search and select DVDs in a list,e.g., using a screen 2000, that the user owns and place each DVD on thewhite or black list. This saves the user from having to insert each DVDinto the DVD player in DVR 102 and determine settings for each DVD.

In one embodiment of the invention, a user can enter keywords or DVDcontent titles and place them on the white or black list. Using keywordsallows the user to enter partial titles in case the user does notcorrectly remember a DVD content's title. DVR 102 uses the keywords ortitle to classify a DVD when it is inserted into the DVD player in DVR102.

In one embodiment of the invention, a user can set allowable ratingslevels for DVDs as he would for content items described above. DVR 102will look at a DVD's rating and determine if the DVD is viewable in kidszone operational mode when DVR 102 is in that mode. If the DVD does nothave a rating included in the DVD content, DVR 102 can obtain the DVD'srating by referencing a DVD catalog or database accessible via theInternet. DVR 102 can save the rating as well as the DVD's contentinformation on a hard rive or storage device for future reference.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 also allows a user to savecontent stored on a hard disk or storage device onto a recordable DVD.The user can save his own title and rating onto the DVD. This allows theuser to create DVDs that conform to ratings, title, and/or keywordsettings that the user has established on DVR 102. Given that the userhas set the rating of the DVD to a standard rating, this also allowsanother user to play the DVD on his DVR and have the DVR filter the DVDusing his own rules.

3.12 Logging DVR Activity

In one embodiment of the invention, during times that DVR 102 is in thekids zone operational mode, DVR 102 maintains a log of (a) the channelsto which DVR 102 was tuned while in the kids zone operational mode, (b)the content items (live or previously recorded) that DVR 102 presentedwhile in the kids zone operational mode, and/or (c) the content itemsthat DVR 102 scheduled for recording while DVR 102 was in the kids zoneoperational mode. In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 presentsthe log to a DVR user such as a parent in response to the parent'sselection of a corresponding menu item, and, in one embodiment of theinvention, the parent's submission of the correct password. Thus, byviewing the log, parents can keep tabs on what their children have beendoing relative to DVR 102.

3.13 Restricting Advertisements

Although a content item such as a television program or movie might havea rating associated with it by some ratings organization, advertisementsthat are dispersed throughout breaks in the content item usually willnot have any associated rating. Nevertheless, parents might want toprevent their children from seeing certain kinds of advertisements.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 is configured to block alladvertisements that originate from parent-specified advertisers. In oneembodiment of the invention, DVR 102 is configured to block alladvertisements that pertain to parent-specified brands. DVR 102 mayreceive, from a DVR user such as a parent, information that specifies alist of advertisers whose advertisements DVR 102 should block.Additionally or alternatively, DVR 102 may receive, from a DVR user suchas a parent, information that specifies a list of parent-forbiddenbrands. Thereafter, during times that DVR 102 is in the kids zoneoperational mode, DVR 102 prevents the presentation of (a) alladvertisements that DVR 102 determines to be from any of the advertiserson the list and (b) all advertisements that DVR 102 determines topertain to any of the brands on the list.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 automatically identifies theadvertiser from which an advertisement originates and/or the brand towhich an advertisement pertains by inspecting metadata that isassociated with that advertisement. For example, DVR 102 may determinethe advertiser and/or brand by inspecting “closed caption” tags, orother embedded tags, that accompany the advertisement. In response tolocating, in the metadata, a word or set of words that are known tooccur in an advertisement from a forbidden advertiser or anadvertisement that pertains to a forbidden brand, DVR 102 may (a)present alternative, child-appropriate content during the time intervalthat the advertisement occupies, or (b) skip over the advertisement ifthe advertisement is being presented from previously stored content onDVR 102. For another example, in response to locating, in the metadata,a tag that was inserted by a service provider or other party, and whichindicates a rating of the advertisement, DVR 102 may determine whetherthe rating is allowed by the kids zone's restriction criteria, and ifnot, then DVR 102 may take actions such as those described aboverelative to the advertisement. Some example techniques for identifyingadvertisements in a program stream are described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/665,921, entitled “CLOSED CAPTION TAGGINGSYSTEM” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/473,543, entitled“IN-BAND DATA RECOGNITION AND SYCHRONIZATION SYSTEM” both owned by theApplicant and incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

The service provider can charge a fee to kid-friendly advertisers todisplay their ads in place of ads that are on the forbidden brand oradvertiser list. The DVR can randomly select an advertisement from apool of paid advertiser advertisements or it can display advertisementsfrom the pool based on a priority list provided by the service providerthat specifies which advertisements should be displayed first. Thepriority list can also specify the frequency and/or time of day thatspecific advertisements should be displayed. This allows the serviceprovider to have different fee levels depending on how frequent theadvertiser wants their advertisement displayed. An advertiser can alsobe more specific and pay a fee to have a specific advertisementdisplayed during a certain day, date, and/or time of day in order tohave a more precise audience targeting.

In one embodiment, parents can have access to parent-specified brand andadvertiser blocking for free and the DVR selects advertisements from apaid advertiser pool to display to the viewer when an advertisement isblocked. Parents can pay a fee to the service provider to getadvertisement blocking without advertisements being replaced by the DVR.

3.14 Multiple Kids Zones on the Same DVR

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR 102 is capable of establishingmultiple separate kids zones in response to a DVR user's requests. Eachkids zone may be mapped to a different user-selected age range or viewercategory. Each kids zone may be associated with different user-selectedrestriction criteria. Thus, content items which are allowable in onekids zone might be blocked in another kids zone. In one embodiment ofthe invention, when a kids zone is established, DVR 102 asks the DVRuser to provide a name or identifier by which the kids zone will beknown. DVR 102 stores the provided name or identifier in associationwith the kids zone just established. In one embodiment of the invention,when DVR 102 receives a command that directs DVR 102 to enter a kidszone, if more than one kids zone has been established on DVR 102, thenDVR 102 presents, to the DVR user, the names or identifiers of theseveral established kids zones, and asks the DVR user to select one. Inresponse to receiving the DVR user's selection of a particular kidszone, DVR 102 places itself in the particular kids zone operationalmode, thereafter allowing and blocking content items based on therestriction criteria that are associated with that particular kids zone.

In one embodiment, remote controls that are coded for family members orremote controls that identify people via ID chips implanted somewhere inthe person or worn by the person are used to identify a user and whethera certain kids zone is to be activated or, in the case of a parent'sremote control or ID chip being identified, whether kids zone should bedeactivated. An example of custom remote control identification isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,868,225, entitled “MULTIMEDIA PROGRAMBOOKMARKING SYSTEM” owned by the Applicant and incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

In one embodiment of the invention, a remote control is either coded ordesigned specifically for kids zone use. A remote control that has beendesigned specifically for kids zone use may have only the keys necessaryfor a child to select and play programs as well as performing trick playfunctions on a program. Other keys such as record, guide, thumbs up/downmay not be needed and can be eliminated from a remote designedspecifically for kids zone.

4.0 Example DVR

FIG. 32 is a block diagram that shows an example of the internalstructure and operation of a DVR, according to an embodiment of theinvention. An example of the internal structure and operation of a DVRis further described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,389, which is incorporatedby reference as though originally disclosed herein.

The DVR shown in FIG. 32 comprises an input module 3201, a media switch3202, and an output module 3203. Input module 3201 receives television(TV) input streams in any of a variety of forms. For example, a TV inputstream received by input module 3201 may take the form of a NationalTelevision Standards Committee (NTSC) compliant signal or a PALcompliant broadcast signal. For another example, a TV input streamreceived by input module 3201 may take a digital form such as a DigitalSatellite System (DSS) compliant signal, a Digital Broadcast Services(DBS) compliant signal, or an Advanced Television Standards Committee(ATSC) compliant signal. DBS, DSS, and ATSC are based on standardscalled Moving Pictures Experts Group 2 (MPEG-2) and MPEG-2 Transport.MPEG-2 Transport is a standard for formatting the digital data streamfrom the TV source transmitter so that a TV receiver can disassemble theinput stream to find programs in the multiplexed signal. According toone embodiment of the invention, input module 3201 produces MPEGstreams. According to another embodiment of the invention, input module3201 produces streams that are encoded using a different codec.

An MPEG-2 transport multiplex supports multiple programs in the samebroadcast channel, which multiple video and audio feeds and privatedata. Input module 3201 tunes the channel to a particular program,extracts a specified MPEG stream from the channel, and feeds the MPEGstream to the rest of the system. Analog TV signals are encoded into asimilar MPEG format using separate video and audio encoders, such thatthe remainder of the system is unaware of how the signal was obtained.Information may be modulated into the vertical blanking interval (VBI)of the analog TV signal in a number of standard ways; for example, theNorth American Broadcast Teletext Standard (NABTS) may be used tomodulate information onto certain lines of an NTSC signal, which the FCCmandates the use of a certain other line for closed caption (CC) andextended data services (EDS). Such signals are decoded by input module3201 and passed to the other modules as if the signals had beendelivered via an MPEG-2 private data channel.

Media switch 3202 mediates between a microprocessor CPU 3206, a harddisk or storage device 3205, and memory 3204. Input streams areconverted to an MPEG stream and sent to media switch 3202. Media switch3202 buffers the MPEG stream into memory 3204. Media switch 3202 thenperforms two operations if the DVR user is watching real-time TV: mediaswitch 3202 sends the MPEG stream to output module 3203 andsimultaneously writes the MPEG stream to hard disk or storage device3205.

Output module 3203 receives MPEG streams as input and produces an analogTV signal according to NTSC, PAL, or other TV standards. Output module3203 comprises an MPEG decoder, an on-screen display (OSD) generator, ananalog TV encoder, and audio logic. The OSD generator allows the programlogic to supply images which may be overlaid on top of the resulting TVanalog signal. Additionally, output module 3203 can modulate informationsupplied by the program logic onto the VBI of the output signal in anumber of standard formats, including NABTS, CC, and EDS.

Further examples of some embodiments are set forth as follows. Accordingto an embodiment, a method comprises: receiving identities of contentitems; and during times that a device is in a first operational mode,(a) preventing the device from presenting particular content items thatare associated with the identities, while (b) allowing the device toobtain and store any of the particular content items. In an embodiment,the identities are titles or unique identifiers of viewable contentitems. In an embodiment, the method further comprises allowing thedevice to present the particular content items during times that thedevice is in a second operational mode that differs from the firstoperational mode. In an embodiment, allowing the device to obtain andstore the particular content items comprises: during times that thedevice is in the first operational mode, (a) allowing the device torecord any of the particular content items while (b) preventing thedevice from playing recorded instances of any of the particular contentitems. In an embodiment, preventing the device from presenting theparticular content items comprises: during times that the device is inthe first operational mode, preventing the device from sending, to adisplay, broadcast signals that represent any of the particular contentitems.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises, during times that thedevice is in the first operational mode, preventing the device fromscheduling a recording of content that has not already been scheduled,and during times that the device is not in the first operational mode,allowing the device to schedule a recording of content that has notalready been scheduled. In an embodiment, the method further comprisesduring times that the device is in the first operational mode, inresponse to a command to tune to a particular channel, determiningwhether a particular content item currently being presented on theparticular channel satisfies restriction criteria that are associatedwith the first operational mode, and if the particular content item doesnot satisfy the restriction criteria, then, instead, tuning to adifferent channel on which a content item that satisfies the restrictioncriteria is currently being presented. In an embodiment, tuning to thedifferent channel comprises tuning to the different channel withoutidentifying the different channel to a viewer of the channel and withoutrevealing that the device did not tune to the particular channel inresponse to the command to tune to the particular channel.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises, during times that thedevice is in the first operational mode, in response to a command topresent program guide information, preventing display, in the programguide information, of information that pertains to subject matter thatfails to satisfy restriction criteria that are associated with the firstoperational mode. In an embodiment, the method further comprises, duringtimes that the device is in the first operational mode, in response to acommand to present information regarding content items that are storedon the device, presenting a list of stored content items that satisfyrestriction criteria that are associated with the first operationalmode; wherein the list does not identify stored content items that donot satisfy the restriction criteria; wherein the list identifies asubset of the content items that are stored on the device.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises presenting a list ofcontent items from which a user can select one or more allowable contentitems; and, in conjunction with at least one content item in the list,presenting a rating that is based on information received from a partyother than the user. In an embodiment, the method further comprises,during times that the device is in the first operational mode, inresponse to a command to schedule a recording of a first content item,determining whether the recording of the first content item willconflict with a previously scheduled recording of a second content item;in response to determining that the recording of the first content itemwill conflict with the recording of the second content item, determiningwhether the recording of the second content item was scheduled during atime that the device was not in the first mode; and in response todetermining that the recording of the second content item was scheduledduring a time that the device was not in the first mode, preventing therecording of the first content item from being scheduled.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises, during times that thedevice is in the first operational mode, determining whether a channelto which the device is currently tuned is currently providing aparticular content item that does not satisfy restriction criteria thatare associated with the first mode; and in response to determining thatthe channel to which the device is currently tuned is currentlyproviding a particular content item that does not satisfy therestriction criteria, preventing the device from presenting theparticular content item, and preventing the device from presenting anyinformation about the content item.

According to an embodiment, a method comprises receiving a set ofcriteria; receiving identities of content items; and during times that adevice is in a first operational mode, (a) preventing the device frompresenting first content items that (1) have attributes that satisfy theset of criteria and (2) are not associated with any of the identities,while (b) allowing the device to present second content items that (1)have attributes that satisfy the set of criteria and (2) are associatedwith at least one of the identities.

In an embodiment, the at least one of the identities is an identity of aspecific episode of a multiple-episode series, wherein at least one ofthe first content items is a different episode of the multi-episodeseries, and wherein at least one of the second content items is thespecific episode of the multi-episode series. In an embodiment, themethod further comprises receiving recommended suggestions that werespecified by an entity other than an owner or post-purchase operator ofthe device; determining a set of suggested content items based on therecommended suggestions; and during times that the device is in thefirst operational mode, allowing the device to present suggested contentitems in the set of suggested content items.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises receiving, from anoperator of the device, input that indicates the operator's selection ofthe entity from a set of suggestion-recommending entities; and obtainingthe recommended suggestions that were specified by the entity inresponse to the operator's selection of the entity.

According to an embodiment, a method comprises: receiving input thatindicates user selection of a viewer category; and during times that adevice is in a first operational mode, (a) preventing the device frompresenting particular content items that do not satisfy criteria thatare mapped to the viewer category, while (b) allowing the device toobtain and store the particular content items. In an embodiment, thecriteria that are mapped to the viewer category are specified by anentity other than an owner or post-purchase operator of the device.

According to an embodiment, a method comprises: placing a digital videorecorder (DVR) into a children's mode; receiving identities of contentitems; identifying content items that are viewable by a specific agerange related to the children's mode using the received identities; anddisplaying only content items that are viewable by the specific agerange related to the children's mode. In an embodiment, the specific agerange is determined by a user. In an embodiment, the method furthercomprises recording only content items that are viewable by the specificage range related to the children's mode. In an embodiment, the methodfurther comprises displaying a recorded content item that is viewable bythe specific age range related to the children's mode when there are nocontent items being currently broadcast that are viewable by thespecific age range related to the children's mode. In an embodiment, theinformation contained within the received identities regarding whether acontent item is viewable to a certain age range are determined by atrusted party. In an embodiment, a user instructs the DVR to receive thetrusted party's content item identities.

Other examples of embodiments are given, without limitation, throughoutthis disclosure.

5.0 Hardware Overview

FIG. 33 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system 3300 uponwhich an embodiment of the invention may be implemented. Computer system3300 includes a bus 3302 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, and a processor 3304 coupled with bus 3302for processing information. Computer system 3300 also includes a mainmemory 3306, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamicstorage device, coupled to bus 3302 for storing information andinstructions to be executed by processor 3304. Main memory 3306 also maybe used for storing temporary variables or other intermediateinformation during execution of instructions to be executed by processor3304. Computer system 3300 further includes a read only memory (ROM)3308 or other static storage device coupled to bus 3302 for storingstatic information and instructions for processor 3304. A storage device3310, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupledto bus 3302 for storing information and instructions.

Computer system 3300 may be coupled via bus 3302 to a display 3312, suchas a cathode ray tube (CRT), for displaying information to a computeruser. An input device 3314, including alphanumeric and other keys, iscoupled to bus 3302 for communicating information and command selectionsto processor 3304. Another type of user input device is cursor control3316, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys forcommunicating direction information and command selections to processor3304 and for controlling cursor movement on display 3312. This inputdevice typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis(e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specifypositions in a plane.

The invention is related to the use of computer system 3300 forimplementing the techniques described herein. According to oneembodiment of the invention, those techniques are performed by computersystem 3300 in response to processor 3304 executing one or moresequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 3306.Such instructions may be read into main memory 3306 from anothermachine-readable medium, such as storage device 3310. Execution of thesequences of instructions contained in main memory 3306 causes processor3304 to perform the process steps described herein. In alternativeembodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with software instructions to implement the invention. Thus,embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combinationof hardware circuitry and software.

The term “machine-readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing data that causes a machine to operationin a specific fashion. In an embodiment implemented using computersystem 3300, various machine-readable media are involved, for example,in providing instructions to processor 3304 for execution. Such a mediummay take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media,volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, forexample, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 3310.Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 3306.Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiberoptics, including the wires that comprise bus 3302. Transmission mediacan also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as thosegenerated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications. All suchmedia must be tangible to enable the instructions carried by the mediato be detected by a physical mechanism that reads the instructions intoa machine.

Common forms of machine-readable media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magneticmedium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punchcards, papertape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM,a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave asdescribed hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

Various forms of machine-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 3304 forexecution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on amagnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 3300 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitterto convert the data to an infra-red signal. An infra-red detector canreceive the data carried in the infra-red signal and appropriatecircuitry can place the data on bus 3302. Bus 3302 carries the data tomain memory 3306, from which processor 3304 retrieves and executes theinstructions. The instructions received by main memory 3306 mayoptionally be stored on storage device 3310 either before or afterexecution by processor 3304.

Computer system 3300 also includes a communication interface 3318coupled to bus 3302. Communication interface 3318 provides a two-waydata communication coupling to a network link 3320 that is connected toa local network 3322. For example, communication interface 3318 may bean integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem to providea data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephoneline. As another example, communication interface 3318 may be a localarea network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to acompatible LAN. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any suchimplementation, communication interface 3318 sends and receiveselectrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital datastreams representing various types of information.

Network link 3320 typically provides data communication through one ormore networks to other data devices. For example, network link 3320 mayprovide a connection through local network 3322 to a host computer 3324or to data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP)3326. ISP 3326 in turn provides data communication services through theworld wide packet data communication network now commonly referred to asthe “Internet” 3328. Local network 3322 and Internet 3328 both useelectrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital datastreams. The signals through the various networks and the signals onnetwork link 3320 and through communication interface 3318, which carrythe digital data to and from computer system 3300, are exemplary formsof carrier waves transporting the information.

Computer system 3300 can send messages and receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link 3320 andcommunication interface 3318. In the Internet example, a server 3330might transmit a requested code for an application program throughInternet 3328, ISP 3326, local network 3322 and communication interface3318.

The received code may be executed by processor 3304 as it is received,and/or stored in storage device 3310, or other non-volatile storage forlater execution. In this manner, computer system 3300 may obtainapplication code in the form of a carrier wave.

In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have beendescribed with reference to numerous specific details that may vary fromimplementation to implementation. Thus, the sole and exclusive indicatorof what is the invention, and is intended by the applicants to be theinvention, is the set of claims that issue from this application, in thespecific form in which such claims issue, including any subsequentcorrection. Any definitions expressly set forth herein for termscontained in such claims shall govern the meaning of such terms as usedin the claims. Hence, no limitation, element, property, feature,advantage or attribute that is not expressly recited in a claim shouldlimit the scope of such claim in any way. The specification and drawingsare, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than arestrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: at a multimedia device,storing information that specifies one or more words that are known tooccur in advertisements; based on inspecting captioning data thataccompanies multimedia content, the multimedia device locating withinthe captioning data the one or more words specified in the information;based at least partially on locating the one or more words in thecaptioning data, automatically identifying in the multimedia content, bythe multimedia device, an advertisement that is associated with the oneor more words; in response to identifying the advertisement associatedwith the one or more words, while playing the multimedia content at themultimedia device, automatically skipping over the advertisement in themultimedia content.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: themultimedia device determining a most recently specified mode ofoperation that the multimedia device has been instructed to operate in;the multimedia device automatically skipping over the advertisement onlywhen the most recently specified mode of operation is a particular modeof operation.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more wordsare one or more words known to occur in an advertisement from a specificadvertiser.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining auser identifier for a current user of the multimedia device; wherein themultimedia device is configured to skip different advertisements fordifferent determined user identifiers.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising automatically skipping over the advertisement based on dataindicating that a user of the multimedia device has paid a fee.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising presenting, during a time intervalthat the advertisement occupies in the multimedia content, analternative advertisement of a plurality of alternative advertisements,wherein the alternative advertisement is selected based in part on apriority list that specifies an order in which the plurality ofalternative advertisements are to be presented.
 7. One or morenon-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, whenexecuted by one or more computing devices, cause performance of: at amultimedia device, storing information that specifies one or more wordsthat are known to occur in advertisements; based on inspectingcaptioning data that accompanies multimedia content, the multimediadevice locating within the captioning data the one or more wordsspecified in the information; based at least partially on locating theone or more words in the captioning data, automatically identifying inthe multimedia content, by the multimedia device, an advertisement thatis associated with the one or more words; in response to identifying theadvertisement associated with the one or more words, while playing themultimedia content at the multimedia device, automatically skipping overthe advertisement in the multimedia content.
 8. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the one or more computing devices,further cause performance of: the multimedia device determining a mostrecently specified mode of operation that the multimedia device has beeninstructed to operate in; the multimedia device automatically skippingover the advertisement only when the most recently specified mode ofoperation is a particular mode of operation.
 9. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the one ormore words are one or more words known to occur in an advertisement froma specific advertiser.
 10. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more computing devices, further cause performanceof: determining a user identifier for a current user of the multimediadevice; wherein the multimedia device is configured to skip differentadvertisements for different determined user identifiers.
 11. The one ormore non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the one or more computing devices,further cause performance of: automatically skipping over theadvertisement based on data indicating that a user of the multimediadevice has paid a fee.
 12. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 7, further comprising instructionsthat, when executed by the one or more computing devices, that causeperformance of presenting, during a time interval that the advertisementoccupies in the multimedia content, an alternative advertisement of aplurality of alternative advertisements, wherein the alternativeadvertisement is selected based in part on a priority list thatspecifies an order in which the plurality of alternative advertisementsare to be presented.
 13. An apparatus comprising: a module, implementedat least partially by hardware, configured to store information thatspecifies one or more words that are known to occur in advertisements; amodule, implemented at least partially by hardware, configured to, basedon inspecting captioning data that accompanies multimedia content,locate within the captioning data the one or more words specified in theinformation; a module, implemented at least partially by hardware,configured to, based at least partially on locating the one or morewords in the captioning data, automatically identify in the multimediacontent an advertisement that is associated with the one or more words;a module, implemented at least partially by hardware, configured to, inresponse to identifying the advertisement associated with the one ormore words, while playing the multimedia content, automatically skipover the advertisement in the multimedia content.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 13, further comprising: a module, implemented at least partiallyby hardware, configured to, determine a most recently specified mode ofoperation that the multimedia device has been instructed to operate in;a module, implemented at least partially by hardware, configured toautomatically skip over the advertisement only when the most recentlyspecified mode of operation is a particular mode of operation.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein the one or more words are one or morewords known to occur in an advertisement from a specific advertiser. 16.The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising: a module, implemented atleast partially by hardware, configured to determine a user identifierfor a current user of the multimedia device and skip differentadvertisements for different determined user identifiers.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 13, further comprising: a module, implemented atleast partially by hardware, configured to automatically skip over theadvertisement based on data indicating that a user of the multimediadevice has paid a fee.
 18. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprisinga module, implemented at least partially by hardware, configured topresent, during a time interval that the advertisement occupies in themultimedia content, an alternative advertisement of a plurality ofalternative advertisements, wherein the alternative advertisement isselected based in part on a priority list that specifies an order inwhich the plurality of alternative advertisements are to be presented.